When it comes to promoting consumer goods for children, advertisers have always been targeting children’s desires of acquiring something that their friends already have, using peer-to-peer techniques to send their message across. However, the use of children as brand ambassadors is a subject that has been discussed at length by regulatory bodies.
A report of an independent review of the commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood published in June by Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of the Mothers Union, started raising questions with regards to including the use of child brand ambassadors and peer-to-peer techniques in marketing campaigns.
Mr. Bailey makes a series of recommendations concerning children as consumers, which include better representation of the views of parents in advertising regulation and also their heightened awareness of advertising techniques. In terms of techniques, it suggests that employing children as ‘brand ambassadors’ is prohibited and finally that standards should be introduced for educational resources for media and commercial literacy.
In response to the Bailey Report, we believe that if brands are using children to promote a positive and meaningful product through transparent methods, it could be fine as they are acting as direct agents, and expressing a true interest in the brand. Marketers surely need to be ethical and socially responsible with regards to the advertising message and the image they are exposing to children, and also be aware of the issues that can implicate on their behaviour.
Children represent an important demographic as they can influence their parents’ buying decisions and experiential marketing techniques can always display the best results, providing a healthy experience where kids can interact directly with the brand and have the opportunity to see a product and experience it for themselves.
The Bailey Review calls for self-regulation over legislation and the industry will have 18-months to evaluate and respond to the report. What are your thoughts? Tweet us @Hotcow!